Commencement 2019: RPI awards degrees

Staff report

Updated
5:34 pm EDT, Saturday, May 18, 2019

Graduate students walk down the aisle to receive their diplomas during the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 213th Commencement on Saturday, May 18, 2019 at RPI's East Athletic Campus in Troy, NY. (Phoebe Sheehan/Times Union) less

Graduate students walk down the aisle to receive their diplomas during the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 213th Commencement on Saturday, May 18, 2019 at RPI's East Athletic Campus in Troy, NY. (Phoebe ... more

Graduate students walk down the aisle to receive their diplomas during the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 213th Commencement on Saturday, May 18, 2019 at RPI's East Athletic Campus in Troy, NY. (Phoebe Sheehan/Times Union) less

Graduate students walk down the aisle to receive their diplomas during the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 213th Commencement on Saturday, May 18, 2019 at RPI's East Athletic Campus in Troy, NY. (Phoebe ... more

Harvard Professor John P. Holdren urged the Class of 2019 to become emissaries "on the relevance of science and technology to the biggest issues affecting human well-being."

Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson congratulated the graduates on their accomplishments and charged them to live their lives to the fullest.

Holdren, the Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy in Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree from Rensselaer.

The university also awarded Helene D. Gayle, president and CEO of The Chicago Community Trust, an honorary doctor of humane letters degree.

James J. Barba, the president and CEO of Albany Medical Center, received an honorary doctor of laws degree.

Attendees also heard from two student speakers.

Graduate student speaker Michael Conward, a recipient of a doctoral degree in mechanical engineering, shared his own formula for success: "Focus plus accountability equals results." He expressed a hope for his fellow graduates to focus their efforts on ensuring "a bright future for all mankind."

"We all have a duty to have a positive impact, to stand confidently in what we've learned, and to lead," Conward said.

Kinsley Rowan, Class of 2019 president, told her fellow graduates that Rensselaer students are uniquely positioned to help the global community.

"Being an anomaly is part of RPI," said Rowan, who received a bachelor of science in biomedical engineering. "In order to change the world, you must be different from the world, think different from the world, think ahead of the world."